Rovers complete Nuno Gomes deal

Rovers have bolstered their ranks further with the addition of hugely experienced striker Nuno Gomes.

The former Portuguese international joins the Ewood Park club on a free transfer following his release from Braga at the end of last season, signing a two-year-deal.

Nuno Gomes is one of the most recognisable names – and faces – in European football.

Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro, to give him his full title, is a Portugal legend, who has scored 29 goals in 79 games for his country.

Born in Amarante, north-west Portugal, Nuno started his career with Boavista, making his debut at the age of 18 in 1994.

He scored 23 goals in 79 appearances for the club, including a goal in the 1997 final of the Portuguese Cup, which Boavista won 3-2 against his future employers, Benfica.

In the ensuing three years with the Lisbon-based club, Nuno scored 60 goals in 101 appearances for Benfica and earned his place in the Portugal squad for Euro 2000.

It was in this tournament that Nuno shot to fame, scoring four goals and helping Portugal reach the semi-finals, where he scored the opening goal against eventual winners France.

His European Championship exploits earned Nuno a €17m move to Fiorentina that summer. He won the Coppa Italia in his first year and scored 14 goals in 53 games, before moving back to Benfica in 2002 after the Serie A side ran into financial trouble.

On his return to his homeland, Nuno won the Portuguese Cup for a second time in 2004 and the league championship a year later.

He scored the only goal of the game in the 2005 Portuguese Super Cup and netted his 150th goal for the club in a UEFA Cup tie against Napoli in October 2008. Further honours came his way, as Benfica won the Portuguese League Cup two years running, as well as a second league title in 2010.

After scoring 65 goals in 192 league games in his second spell at the club, Nuno joined Braga, where he scored six goals in 20 appearances last season.

On the international scene, Nuno has represented his country at every level from under-15s to the senior side and has excelled throughout.

He has scored at three European Championships, bagging the winner against Spain at Euro 2004 to send the hosts through to the quarter-finals, and has featured at two World Cups, scoring in the third-place play-off against Germany in 2006.